Hi, my name is Brenna and back in May 2018 I decided that I wanted to live a simpler and more joyful life. I am currently travelling Australia in my self converted Toyota Hiace campervan with my dog Abby embracing the simple things in life and living joyfully. Come along with me as I share my current journey as well as how I made my dream a reality. Life is short and all you ever have is the present moment so make the most of it. xx
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Affiliate Link for my EcoFlow Portable Power Station/Solar Generator au.ecoflow.com/?aff=70
Here is my email address if you want to get on touch with me: brennalynn@iinet.net.au
Another thought - how much capacity does your van toilet have? For example if you had food poisioning during the night and you had waste coming out of both ends (sickness and diarohoea) how would you cope with that?
I love watching your videos. Preparing for my own van life..a few years away but I find your videos very relaxing. I like how you are not like the flashy RU-vidrs doing van life. With my age, and being in Australia you are much more relatable. Also I am one of your 33%ers 😊. And Abbey is awesome
Thank Brenna, appreciate All your information sharing ( and other commenters ) Adding to my list of needs. Hugs to Abby; what a beautiful warmer you have in her 🥰
Hello Brenna, I love watching your videos they are informative and so helpful. I am in the process of getting myself ready to travel in a van. Anything that is helpful I really study. Stay safe out there both you and your beautiful dog. 😘🙏
Pre planning is a must. Cpap user , so need power to run it over night. Also diabetic so need to have a fridge to keep the insulin cold. I I'm not full time but I can go a few weeks with out a problem.
I have a couple of power banks that I use for charging small devices overnight and they work a treat. I then ensure I plug those in to charge while I’m driving, as my house battery (a 100AH Lithium Iron LiFePO4) charges via the alternator while I drive.
🌞I'd be worried about crims I make sure I'm home before dark in my neighbourhood just like when I was a kid still and being overwhelmed in extreme weather
Morning Brenna, great advice avoiding crowds as QUALITY OVER QUANTITY is an awesome way to live life. Healthy mind, Healthy body, Healthy human connections, EQUALS Healthy and Happy Life . ♥️🙏🏻🙋🏻♀️🇦🇺
I'm not on the road yet, but I do have medical conditions. I am concerned about being unwell and getting the knock, and being asked to move on when not being well enough to drive. 😕
What would happen if you developed dementia? Sometimes people with dementia don't know they have it until they're too far gone. Would you return to a static house at that point, or hire a live-in carer within your van to help support you to continue with van life?
What an odd question! Do people living in house's wonder what they'll do if they get dementia? In the words of Mark Twain, "most of the things I've worried about never happened."
I was a worrier. But a good friend said to me, “don’t worry until you have something to worry about”. Yes, things happen, but we spend a lot of time worrying about things that will never happen. What a waste of time that is.
The question possibly brings up the the issue of if van lifers were ill enough to require an ED visit when they are living remotely. Also, scripts for the ongoing maintenance and preventer meds for those of us in our older years, or with our own 'engine troubles', our 'wheels are about to blow', and our 'gasket blew' 10,000 kms back. Hug for beautiful Abby 🤗
True about staying healthy by away from people. Almost everytime I go into a Walmart (large supercenter) I'm sick within 48 hours. Especially during the winter months. I now sanitize myself after going into them. I am full time and generally VERY healthy. No medications, healthy weight, fit, etc., at 66 years old.
If you've got the money, buy a 12v LiFePO 200AH with good specs, other words constant output of 100Amps or higher. 200Amp output is considered good. That's enough for most uses, but unlike a electrical grid based house, you can only have one big draw at a time. Like kettle and toaster, at once, will trip your inverter or breakers (depending on specs). Then you'll need to wire it all up, with the proper width wire, with fuses and switches. Alternatively buy a high-end power-bank solution like Brenda has that will save you the wiring, fuses, and compatibility expectations. You want around 300watts or more of solar. You will get overcast days, and if you're using energy to cook, then you'll want every bit of sun energy as possible. This also means targetting low consumption gear, like a laptop, vs a desktop computer. A induction cooker, rather than a hot plate. In my next build I'll be going straight to 48V system. Currently I have 12volt base.
Yeah the benefit of being in a van is you're away from others, and don't get as sick as living in a city. But you do meet lots of people in vanning! The issue is getting a GP. I was able to walk into a Bendigo GP and get a consultation, without being a regular, and this was during CV and not wearing a mask. The receptionists were happy to record that I was "homeless". Another case I turned up straight to Colac hospital, for an infection and was treated.
All good advice. I just had my left total knee replacement surgery 10 days ago. I live full time in my van in British Columbia and my knee had been very bad for 2 years. The surgeon was reticent about doing the surgery until I booked the local medical short stay unit for the 10 days post op. He also said that I would not be insured to drive due to pain medications and possible delayed reaction times post op for up to 6 weeks. I’m back in my van now, off all the heavy duty meds, in my own bed, very cosy, self-sufficient as ever, healing up quickly with all my comforts at hand. I think that possibly because I am so used to just working things out, as van-dwellers do, that it’s gotten me back on my feet pretty quickly. I’m 70. I don’t know what’s next, but this time in my van has added years to my life. To be able to get out and hike is going to be the absolute icing on this cake. Thank you, Brenna. I do enjoy your down to earth videos. Please give Abby a pat for me.
I've had migraine headaches for ages living in my van (although I didn't know that's what they were) and it was business as usual. One of the benefits of living in the van, is having ready access to a comfortable bed at all times!! Don't underestimate the joy in being able to crawl into bed anytime, anywhere. I've done that in supermarket carparks. I also had gastro when driving my van, and had to pull over into a garage to throw up in my cab rubbish bin. I filled the little bin with vomit and it leaked out - binned it afterwards, no cleaning that up. Yuk but at least I was spared a big mess or the indignity of leaning against the vehicle to spew 😂😂
I used to have a lot of gastro-issues until I figured out what it was. I carry emesis bags with me everywhere. They fold flat and open up if you have to barf.
It is much cheaper to do it your self system, but you also then need to understand basic electronics, so you don't burn your van up. Like I've seen people use 240V 10A extension lead wire for their battery connections. It will work for just LED lighting, but those people risk going up in flames. Also the wire being too thin acts as a heater, and you'll loose energy as it travels between batteries or out to your appliance.
Kudos to you, spending most of your time out of the van. I would of thought the elements would wear you down over time, I think it would me.Just love this series. Cheers
Regarding fridges, it also helps to ensure they're not in direct sunlight. I've seen some folks running a teardrop arrangement with their fridge in the open and when the sun was shining on the fridge the compressor was constantly running and struggling to maintain their set temperature. We run an Alpicool C50 off of our Jackery Explorer 1000 (1002 watt hours) and we could run the fridge for roughly three days (it draws up to 45w when the compressor is on) without charging if we use it for nothing else. That never happens though, as we charge when we drive.
Thanks again for another great video Brenna. Love watching them. You are very informative in the most simplest way .. never pushy on any product that you are doing the research on, you tell it like it is. Thanks again .. Terri from Tas..
Hey Brenna, I have a power station with an expansion battery that attaches to it 2048wh x2, I'm fully electric. In case you are interested, I found an easy way to charge when not using solar, I had an auto electrician connect the car battery through a relay and then through the firewall of my van using cables, attached to a separate 1,000-1,500 Watt inverter, this will only turn on when the ignition is on and the battery is at the right voltage for power to be drawn from it, due to the relay and again when the ignition is turned off it automatically shuts off so it won't drain your car battery. I then attach the 240 volt power adaptor into the outlet on the inverter and the other end is attached to my power station, it usually only takes 1-2 hrs of driving and my 2048wh x2 powerstations are charged up. It didn't cost much to have an auto electrician do that for me and less than an hour, I think it was approximately under $200 all up. My trip to Tassy for 5 months, it was used a lot, and so handy, I would highly recommend this set up if anyone has a power station and if you have your solar panel on the roof, like my set up, you get both powering your system at the same time while driving. If you only have your solar panel, my powerstation and expansion battery used to be charged up fully by lunch time and that was when I was using my laptop and starlink for 4 hrs in the morning, in WA.
Thanks for sharing Vicki, EcoFlow have a similar system where you can hook up the power station directly to the battery. I am going to see if I can get them to send me one for review.
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully you are very welcome, thank you also, I would definitely do that if I was you, it's so handy, you can even just run your engine while you're stationery/parked, I've done that a lot too. That ecoflow version they have I think it's 800W, mine is only 500W, so you'd be charged up in no time at all...lol
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully I basically don’t even need to ask - you are so well researched..I can trust you totally!! I’ve been recommended dometic by a boating too.
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully what brand are solar panels? The portable power Banks ( brand and capacity plse) are a great idea! charge them while at the local library!
@@KiwiwandererI have a Dometic CFX. It’s a 35L fridge freezer (I can move it with stuff inside it) but I only use as a fridge. I tested a little 30ah lithium lifepo4 battery in cool weather indoors exclusively for the fridge and it ran the fridge for 2 1/2 days with everyday use. It would use more power if it was in my camper trailer because it gets warmer outside during the day especially in summer.
